Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaro powered to a superbly executed result of 5^th position in Jerez for round 4 of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship. The young Spanish rider began the day brilliantly by storming to 1st position in this morning’s warm up, which left him full of optimism for the 27 lap race. The 2013 Moto2 World Champion had a fantastic launch from the head of the second row of the grid to enter the first corner in third place and right behind the leading bikes. He quickly set into his race pace as he attempted to keep his position from Valentino Rossi and remained with the leading pack at the front of the field. He was shuffled back to 4th on the third lap and became involved in a tussle with Crutchlow and with over half of the race distance left to run, the Spaniard had been shuffled back fifth. Here he continuously set consistent lap times and sustained a gap to the pursuing riders and remained comfortably ahead before reaching the chequered flag in this position.

On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team garage, Bradley Smith produced a determined ride to finish in 8^th position at the Gran Premio bwin de Espana which extends his positive run so far in the 2015 season. The young British rider leapt off the line from 10th on the grid as the lights went out and finished the first lap two places higher. Smith then intended to move further up the field and he reached 7th on the second lap as he set into his race rhythm. With 10 laps remaining, Smith continued to push from 8th position which gave his chasing rivals no chance of catching him as he then attempted to hunt down Aleix Espargaro in front. The British star met the finish flag in 8th and his result sees him remain in 7th in the championship after another positive display. Now Smith looks forward to the upcoming test day tomorrow before heading to the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team’s home race in a fortnight’s time in Le Mans.

"It was a positive close to the weekend and I’m glad that I was able to get a strong result in front of my fans. I had a great start and the only mistake that I made was that I may have pushed a bit too much when I was behind Valentino as I was trying to follow him. I stayed with him for a few laps but I became tired and suffered a bit with arm pump towards the end of the race. So ultimately, I tried to stay consistent on the used tyres and keep Iannone at bay, who was closing in on me. In the end, the gap to the leader was quite big which is not what we hoped for, but finishing 5th is a positive start to the European races, especially considering the result last year. I am really looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow as we have some configurations and different settings to try which could be very important at tracks which don’t have a lot of grip, like this one. We were able to test a few things during the weekend but with such a limited amount of time available this is always a bit difficult, however, tomorrow we can assess everything much more thoroughly."

Profil

"I am happy to go back home with another top eight finish and some valuable championship points in my pocket after the tricky weekend we have had. My plan was to get into a consistent race pace and then stay in it. The start was great and I tried to stay as close as possible to Aleix as I knew he was using the softer option of tyre so there was a chance that I could overtake him at the end of the race. Eventually, I managed to close him down a bit but unfortunately not enough to pass him before the finish flag fell. I have had three crashes this weekend so it was important to get a result today even though it was damage limitation. Tomorrow in the test I hope we can spend some time working on solutions for tracks like Jerez, whether that means focusing on my riding style or on different bike settings. It’s certainly not fun having challenging weekends like this one where every time you push, you risk falling. We can’t have weak races this year and lose points in the championship to the other satellite bikes, so it’s back to work tomorrow to find some answers in order to be back fighting again for the leading satellite position at the Tech3 team’s home Grand Prix in Le Mans."

Profil

"Our two riders did a very good job and to have both guys finish in the top eight is a great way to close the weekend. We knew it would be a tough race at this track due to the grip level especially during the second half of the race. I’m sure all of the riders were concerned about the tyres lasting and we weren’t an exception. Yesterday we were struggling in the second part of the race distance when we ran a simulation in practice but fortunately the track temperature dropped slightly which helped us a bit. However, both riders had good starts and overall we have to be pleased with what we achieved here. In all honesty, the battle at the front was not as intense as the first three races, but the most important thing for us is that we are consistently scoring points. Pol clearly learnt a lot from following the top riders like Valentino and Cal and he was unfortunate to experience some arm pump towards the end of the race. Had this not happened, he could have been higher but we are pleased with the result as the guys in front of Pol are more experienced in this class. Nevertheless, the result will be a big confidence boost for him. Bradley had a great recovery from what was a tricky weekend and rode bravely. Perhaps he could have caught Aleix if there was another lap or two, however we are pleased with his work today. It’s very positive to be scoring some great results and collecting points for the team championship. Now we head to France confident plus ready for the action and we are hoping for sunshine at the beautiful Le Mans circuit."